


The Tangled Mermaid

by disneyslut



Category: Disney - All Media Types, The Little Mermaid (1989)
Genre: Bad Parent Ursula (Disney)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-14
Updated: 2020-10-30
Packaged: 2021-03-09 03:22:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Underage
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,056
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27008017
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/disneyslut/pseuds/disneyslut
Summary: Heyyy before we begin, this is just a fun idea I felt like I needed to vomit out onto the internet for people to see. It’s basically the same Little Mermaid story you know, but with some Tangled vibes. Essentially, Ursula kidnapped Ariel when she was a baby and raised her as her own. Why? Who the fuck cares, I’ll figure it out as I go. Alright love you, enjoy.
Relationships: Ariel/Eric (Disney)
Kudos: 5





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Heyyy before we begin, this is just a fun idea I felt like I needed to vomit out onto the internet for people to see. It’s basically the same Little Mermaid story you know, but with some Tangled vibes. Essentially, Ursula kidnapped Ariel when she was a baby and raised her as her own. Why? Who the fuck cares, I’ll figure it out as I go. Alright love you, enjoy.

It began on a cold winter’s evening in the city of Atlantica as the noble sea king burst into the royal nursery late at night. He had awoken to a father’s worst nightmare - the screams and cries of his wife and children. As he burst into the nursery he found his young daughters sobbing and hiding in the crevices of the room, and the lifeless body of his beloved wife, hands still outstretched towards the window. The surprises of that nightmarish scene only continued, however, as he peered into the cradle of his youngest child and found nothing. As he held his wife’s limp body in his arms, his six daughters crowded around him, mourning the losses that the night had wrought.  
As soon as the king regained his senses, he ordered all his men to embark at once to search for his missing daughter. He insisted that no one in his kingdom could sleep until the infant was safe at home. This soon became an empty promise. Days passed, then weeks, then years, and there was no trace of the princess. Before long, sixteen years had passed, and the king and his remaining family had lost hope of finding her. But little did they know, far beyond the boundaries of Atlantica the lost princess lived, hidden deep in the leviathan remains that resided in the deepest trenches in the sea.


	2. Chapter 1

“Ariel,” the deep, familiar voice called out to her, “I’m home!”  
The fiery redhead mermaid excitedly swam out from her bedchambers and into the voice’s arms, “Welcome home, mother!”  
“Did you finish all your chores this morning?” The large, purple-skinned cecilia asked her, combing her long red nails through the girl’s hair as she smiled down at her.  
“Yes!” Ariel smiled back sweetly, “I got all the potion ingredients you needed for the next week and cleaned up the garden.”  
“Wonderful,” the woman smirked, releasing the mermaid and propelling herself across the room.   
It was an average morning for the odd little family, made up of just Ursula, the witchy cecalian single mother, and Ariel, her beautiful merfolk teenage daughter. There wasn’t much resemblance between the two, but hardly anyone came around to point such a thing out - other than Ursula’s customers, of course. But they were often too caught up with their own business to notice anything of the sort. There were also the family eels, Flotsam and Jetsam. They swam around Ursula’s sides and neck, welcoming her home.   
Ariel swam after her mother as she headed to her vanity to freshen up for the morning, “Oh, by the way, I-”  
“You fixed up some food for this afternoon as well, didn’t you?” Ursula cut her off.  
“Yes, of course, I gathered some prawn and kelp, but-”  
“Oh, not kelp again, I was in the mood for lobster,” the woman grumbled as she applied some cream to her pale gray hair.   
“Sorry, I just hate to kill crustaceans, they’re always so friendly to me when I-”  
Ursula groaned, “You know how I feel about this, dear, you’ve got to get over such nonsense. Beings like you and I need to get enough protein to stay nourished.”  
“Sure, of course, I just felt like we haven’t had prawn in a while, so-” Ariel attempted to continue.  
Ursula sighed, “It’ll have to do. But tomorrow night, do get crab or something, alright love?”  
“Yes, of course mother.” Ariel sighed as she sat near Ursula on the floor by the side of her vanity. Ursula lifted the girl’s chin with her finger.  
“Now what was it you wanted?”  
“Oh,” Ariel reached for the small bag slung around her shoulder, “I found another one of these today while I was out.” She pulled a fork out of the bag and showed it to her.  
“Ah. More human garbage.” Ursula sighed, uninterested.   
“I know, I know, it’s not that special, but the one I found last week was smooth and circular and this one has three pointy prongs, I was just curious as to-”  
“I must say, I don’t understand this fascination of yours. Humans make such useless bobbles. Where did you find this one?” She applied a thick layer of red lipstick.  
“In a shipwreck near the west cove,” She explained, toying with the fork, “While I was looking for the human bone you needed.”   
“Ah, I see.” She floated away from the vanity, “Well, I don’t think we have much room for any more of your souvenirs, so I’d suggest you not get attached.” She poured over her cauldron, peering into her bubble.  
“I won’t.” Ariel said in a small voice before placing it back in her bag.   
“Hmm,” Ursula pursed her lips, “Have you been keeping an eye on our dear friend Maris?”  
Ariel looked up again, “Yes. He still hasn’t found that rare starfish you asked for.”  
“Excellent,” Ursula smirked, “Pity they can’t be found in the Atlantic.”   
Ariel nodded and sighed to herself, resting her head on the palm of her hand. Jetsam curled around her waist and laid beside her. She smiled softly at him. After a few moments she sat up, “Oh!”  
Ursula didn’t even look over, “Yes?”  
“I was wondering if I could, ah, go look for that surface plant you needed? The one on the beach?”  
“I won’t be needing any sea oats for another few weeks, Ariel.”   
“Right, I just… wanted to get ahead.” She bit her lip.  
The truth was, Ariel felt stuck in this small, dreary part of the ocean. She spent most of her time in the dungy skeletal remains she called home, and the rest nearby collecting food and whatever else Ursula needed for her spells. She longed to explore beyond the boundaries set by her mother, to visit the city of merfolk she had heard so much about, or even better, to explore the world above, where an entirely different community thrived.   
Ursula turned to look at her daughter and stared for a cold moment, “Alright,” she sighed, “I suppose I could use some more lyme grass, if you’re so desperate to get out of here.”  
Ariel’s eyes lit up, but she did her best not to act too excited, she knew how her mother felt about the surface, “Alright, I’ll do that this afternoon, then.” Still, the little mermaid couldn’t help but smile.


End file.
